Thursday, April 23, 2009

Beer Fest! [ MUNICH ]

As an American, I pride myself on many things...McDonald's, Bruce Springsteen, the missionary position [you're welcome], but most of all, my ability to drink vast amounts of cold beer. But I, as well as my fellow American counterparts, were put to shame by the Germans as far as beer drinking goes at Beer Fest in Munich, Germany the other weekend [Sorry America].


=Birra of the Blog=
Holy shit! Already?! Just wait...
Hofbrau Dark [or Dunkle] is a Bavarian original and its probably one of the darkest beers I've ever drunken. It is so think tasting, almost to the point where you could consider it a meal in itself. Very delicious though!



We took an overnight train from Florence and arrived in Munich very early in the morning with very little sleep. So we took a quick nap at the hostel and recharged for what would be a long and adventurous weekend. The first thing we did, upon our awakening in the beautiful city of Munich, was rent bikes and ride all around the city. Munich is set up perfectly for bike riding. Wide sidewalks, very little elevations, lanes especially for just bikes, and so many sites to see [that a bike is almost a necessity if you want to catch them all]. I love bike riding and I miss my bike back home very much, so this was one of the greatest feelings in the world at the time.









After a full day of bike riding and site seeing, it was time for some beer! We decided to go to one of the most famous German Breweries and beer garden, The Hofbräuhaus. We started out with the Hofbrau Dunkle [mentioned above] and some fine German cuisine.

+Wienersnitzle is gross looking, but ok tasting...just ok.

+German beer is only fully enjoyed with a gigantic pretzle accompaning it.










+Beer is served in these gigantic, heavey beer mugs known as a Stein and hold the equvalent of about three American beer cans...not to mention the alcohol content is alot higher.

So after the heavey dark beer and alot of food we moved on to some lighter beer.

=Birra of the Blog=
Yea, just get used to it. The next beer on the list is the Hofbrau Original. Although this beer is lighter than the Dunkle, it still is heavier than most beers I am used to drinking in Italy or back home in the States. The Original has a very crisp, refreshing taste that reminds me summer time. Definitely give this one a try if you have the chance.


So needless to say, six steins of beer deep each and we were on our asses. I'm not gonna lie...I don't remember getting back to the hostel that night [nor taking the picture below].













Saturday started with a headache [no shit], but was quickly replaced with fun and excitement as we visited Munich's soccer stadium and the Olympic Park.








After that, we visited the best museum I have ever been too in my entire life [no, I am not over exsagerating...and yes I have been to the Rock and Roll Museum]. The BMW Velt and Museum are not just amazing in their architectural design, but they contain some of the coolest motorized vehicles ever! The museum is a MUST MUST MUST do if you ever make it as far as Munich, Germany!


















We decided to top off the day with...


=Birra of the Blog=
Wham! You gotta love those mid-sentence ones!
We started our evening with a Munchner Weisse. I thoroughly enjoyed the taste and even smell of this beer so I inquired about it. The recipe consists of a balance of the banana, clove spice and lemon [among other things]. It is very fresh tasting and extremely drinkable.


After thoroughly enjoying a few more Munchner Weisse's, we made out way to a night club called Naucght Gallerie. This place was gigantic! There were different rooms with different types of DJs in each! Drinks were cheap and the girls were cute, so we danced and partied there till they turned the lights on on us and, to us, it felt like a great two hours and we should move on to the next club, thinking it was probably around two in the morning. We walk out of the doors of the club to the sun rising. It is seven AM! We had been having ourselves a blast for over 5 and a half hours without even realizing it!

Sunday, which was also Easter, we spent the last part of our stay in Munich at the concentration camp, Dachau. I have visited the Holocaust Museum in D.C. and have been very moved by it, but nothing could have prepared me for the flood of emotion that engulfed everyone visiting this place. Dachau was one of the first concentration camps, or what the Nazi's called "re-education camps". They believe over 35,000 souls lost their lives in Dachau, not to mention the starvation, over-working, torture, and general crimes against humanity that occurred there over the entire length of World War II in Europe. The most moving part of my visit was the first hand accounts that I was able to listen to through a rented audio set, from actual survivors and liberators of Dachau. I will, with out a doubt in my mind, remember this visit for the rest of my life.

On a lighter note [didn't mean to depress you, but atleast you know that I did stuff other than drink beer while in Germany], Munich is a beautiful city full of...

=Birra of the Blog=
Ok, this is getting kind of rediculous! But it's Beer Fest!...last one...I promise. = )
Probably the most unusual type of beer I had while in Munich was the Radler. It is actually a cobinaion of beer and lemonade soda [kinda like a Seven-Up or a Sprite]. It has a citrus-y taste and is a little sour for my liking, but I thought it was interesting enough for the blog. Try it just to say that you did.


No, but for real, Munich really is a beautiful city full of great architecture, a very fun and interesting culture, a rich past and a blooming future, too many things to do in just one small weekend, and...of course...its full of BEER!

It's true, I did get my American, beer-drinking ass kicked by the Germans...but ask me if I had a good time in the process...I dare ya!

















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